TORONTO: Ottawa’s accusations this week detailing a deadly Indian campaign against its Canada-based critics may have further derailed bilateral relations — but to Sikh activists, the striking disclosures brought validation.
Canada has accused India of orchestrating the 2023 killing in Vancouver of 45-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent campaigner for “Khalistan,” the fringe separatist movement for an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab state.
In public comments this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the national police said India’s targeting of Canadian Khalistan activists went beyond Nijjar’s killing, and has included a broad campaign of intimidation, violence and other threats.
India has dismissed the allegations.
“It was very validating,” Harinder Sohi told AFP at a thinly attended protest on Friday outside the Indian consulate in Toronto.
“This is something that we believed in for years and people weren’t listening to us,” the 42-year-old Khalistan activist said.
The dozens of protesters at Friday’s rally waved yellow flags with “Khalistan” written in bold blue letters and repeated a chant branding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a terrorist.”
They also erected a prison cell around an effigy of the Indian leader.
Sohi said it was meaningful that Canada has now publicly affirmed the “danger” India poses to people living across Canada.
It “is shocking that we as Canadian citizens have to live in fear of a foreign government,” he said.
Testifying Wednesday at an inquiry on foreign interference, Trudeau made clear his government was not looking to blow up relations with a major trading partner with whom Canada has deep ties.
But he said when faced with clear evidence the Indian government had directed acts of violence inside Canada and breached Canadian “sovereignty,” he and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police resolved to go public in the interest of public safety.
The Khalistan campaign dates back to India’s 1947 independence and within India today any support for the movement faces a swift crackdown.
Jatinder Singh Grewal, a director with the Sikhs for Justice advocacy group and a Khalistan supporter, argued that Modi’s government is intent on silencing support for the movement abroad because it fears discussion among the Sikh diaspora could fuel a movement at home.
“If you allow the Canadian Sikhs, or the American Sikhs or the British Sikhs to openly talk about this, you will eventually make the Punjabi Sikh say, ‘Why can’t I talk about this openly?’“
Grewal praised Trudeau’s public disclosures and Canada’s decision to expel Indian diplomats but said more was needed, endorsing the closure of Indian consulates in Toronto and Vancouver, arguing they have been used to coordinate violence against Sikhs.
There are roughly 770,000 Sikhs in Canada, about two percent of the population, the largest Sikh community outside of India.
Sikhs are heavily concentrated in suburban areas, notably around Toronto and Vancouver, and the community’s vote has been pivotal in past national elections.
Last year, days after Trudeau first accused Indian agents of killing Nijjar, one former government foreign policy adviser charged that domestic politics had influenced Trudeau’s decisions on Sikh affairs.
Writing in The Globe and Mail, the former adviser Omer Aziz said Trudeau’s Liberal party was worried about losing votes to the left-wing New Democrats, led by Jagmeet Singh, who is Sikh.
Trudeau’s poll numbers are plummeting and with an election due in the coming months, questions have again surfaced about Trudeau’s efforts to shore up Sikh votes.
Holding a Khalistan flag at Friday’s protest, Inderjeet Singh Gosal dismissed any such political motive.
“I don’t think it’s about that,” he told AFP. “I just think that Justin Trudeau is just following his principles. He believes in rights and he believes in keeping his Canadian citizens safe.”
‘Validation’ for Sikh activists after Canada slams Indian tactics
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‘Validation’ for Sikh activists after Canada slams Indian tactics
- Canada has accused India of orchestrating the 2023 killing in Vancouver of 45-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar
- Nijjar was a prominent campaigner for “Khalistan,” the fringe separatist movement for an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab state
China’s Xi urges missile troops to boost deterrence, combat capabilities
- Last month China conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean
- China’s military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year
During the inspection Xi also urged the strategic missile troops to “resolutely fulfil the tasks entrusted by the Party and the people,” state news agency Xinhua said.
The PLA Rocket Force, which oversees the country’s conventional and nuclear missiles, has been tasked with modernizing China’s nuclear forces in the face of developments such as improved US missile defenses, better surveillance capabilities and strengthened alliances.
During the inspection, Xi stressed the need to “adhere to political guidance, strengthen mission responsibility,” and “promote high-quality development of the force construction,” according to Chinese media outlet Cailianshe.
Last month China conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, underscoring growing international focus on the country’s nuclear build-up.
China’s military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with several generals, including from the Rocket Force, and aerospace defense industry executives removed from the national legislative body.
In June, Xi said there were “deep-seated problems” in the Chinese military’s politics, ideology, work style and discipline, adding “there must be no hiding place for corrupt elements in the army.”
G7 defense summit convenes during ‘historic moment’
- Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto welcomed each of the attendees, who also included NATO chief Mark Rutte
Italy, holding the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven countries, organized the body’s first ministerial meeting dedicated to defense, staged in Naples, the southern city that is also home to a NATO base.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto welcomed each of the attendees, who also included NATO chief Mark Rutte.
“I believe that our presence today... sends a strong message to those who try to hinder our democratic systems,” Crosetto told ministers as he opened the event.
Crosetto said on Friday in Brussels he had requested the summit, given the many conflicts facing the international community.
“Ample space” would be given to discussing the escalating Middle East conflict during the one-day summit, Crosetto said.
Also on the agenda is the war in Ukraine, development and security in Africa and situation in the Asia-Pacific.
The meeting comes two days after Israel announced it had killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel that triggered the devastating retaliatory war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar’s death in the Palestinian territory signalled “the beginning of the end” of the war against Hamas, while US President Joe Biden saying it opened the door to “a path to peace.”
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, was in Lebanon on Friday, where Israel is also at war with Hamas ally Hezbollah.
Speaking in Beirut, Meloni slammed attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon as “unacceptable” after the UN force accused Israel of targeting their positions.
Italy has around 1,000 troops in the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which has soldiers from more than 50 countries.
On Ukraine, the ministers will contemplate Kyiv entering a third winter at war, battlefield losses in the east — and the prospect of reduced US military support should Donald Trump be elected to the White House next month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, under mounting pressure from Western allies to forge a winning strategy against Russia, on Thursday presented what he called a “victory plan” to the European Union and NATO.
Its main thrust is a call for immediate NATO membership, deemed unfeasible by alliance members.
It also demands the ability to strike military targets inside Russia with long-range weapons, and an undefined “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” on Ukrainian territory.
Under discussion will also likely be reports, based on South Korean intelligence, that North Korea is deploying large numbers of troops to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
NATO was not as yet able to confirm that intelligence, Rutte said on Friday.
Saturday’s summit was to conclude with a press conference at 4:00 pm.
Scholz in Turkiye to discuss Mideast crisis, migrants
ISTANBUL: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday to discuss the escalating Middle East crisis and migration.
Scholz arrived in Istanbul on Friday night after a meeting with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of France and Britain in Berlin.
The West is hoping that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel will lead to a ceasefire in Gaza after a year of conflict.
A fierce critic of Israel’s Gaza campaign, Erdogan has often criticized Western capitals for supporting Israel which he brands a “terror state.”
Berlin is a strong supporter of Israel and has defended its right to self-defense.
Scholz on Friday said he hoped Sinwar’s death would pave the way for a ceasefire. Sinwar was considered the architect of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which sparked the Gaza conflict.
Erdogan has forged close ties with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
His foreign minister Hakan Fidan on Friday held talks with Hamas officials in Istanbul and offered “condolences” over Sinwar’s death.
They also discussed “the state of recent negotiations for a ceasefire deal allowing the exchange of hostages and prisoners,” Fidan’s ministry said.
Turkiye’s relations with Germany — home to Europe’s largest Turkish diaspora of some three million people — are sensitive. Berlin has voiced concerns over the state of human rights and democracy under Erdogan especially after a failed 2016 coup.
Migration is expected to figure high on the agenda of the talks between Scholz and Erdogan.
Scholz’s government has been under heightened pressure over the issue after a series of violent crimes and extremist attacks committed by asylum seekers.
Turkiye will also expect progress on its plans to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoons which are built by a four-nation consortium including Germany.
Scholz last visited Turkiye in March 2022 a few months after taking office.
French foreign minister in Kyiv on solidarity tour
KYIV: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot arrived in Kyiv Saturday on a two-day visit aimed at expressing his country’s unflinching support for Ukraine.
Barrot arrived in the capital when it was on alert for Russian drone strikes. He will spend the weekend in Kyiv and meet with counterpart Andriy Sybiga.
On Friday evening, Barrot said on France Inter public radio that his visit was aimed at “reminding that France will not back away from any crisis, to say that what is at stake in Ukraine is the security of our continent, including food and energy.”
He had earlier said he would also discuss the issue of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.
US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Friday voiced their “resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace.”
Barrot’s visit comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Western allies with a “victory plan.”
The Ukrainian leader has traveled to Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to promote his initiative, but has yet to gain backing on the specifics of the plan.
The plan’s central plea for an immediate invitation to join NATO is widely viewed as unrealistic.
Zelensky’s blueprint also rejects any territorial concessions, calls for allies to lift restrictions on using donated long-range weapons against Russian military sites, and suggests deploying a “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” on Ukrainian territory.
King Charles given military honors on first day of Australia tour
SYDNEY: King Charles was granted five-star rank in each branch of Australia’s armed forces Saturday, a ceremonial gesture to mark the first full day of his landmark tour Down Under.
Charles, in addition to being king of realm can now call himself field marshal of Australia’s army, marshal of its airforce and admiral of the fleet.
It was not a bad day’s work for the 75-year-old monarch, who spent Saturday recuperating and without public engagements after a marathon flight from London to Sydney.
The monarch — who received the life-changing cancer diagnosis just eight months ago — and Queen Camilla have begun a nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa, the first major foreign tour since being crowned.
They landed in Sydney on Friday and were greeted by local dignitaries and posy-bearing children, before a quick private meeting with Australia’s staunchly republican Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancee.
“We are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special,” the royal couple said in a social media post ahead of their arrival.
Royal tours to far-flung domains are a vital way of kindling local support for the monarchy, and the political stakes for the royals are high.
A recent poll showed about a third of Australians would like to ditch the monarchy, a third would keep it, and a third are ambivalent.
Visiting British royals have typically embarked on weeks-long visits to stoke support, hosting grand banquets and parading through streets packed with thrilled, flag-waving subjects.
This visit will be a little different. The king’s health has caused much of the usual pomp and ceremony to be scaled back.
A planned stop in New Zealand was canceled altogether, and he will be in Sydney and Canberra for just six days before attending a Commonwealth summit in Samoa.
There are few early morning or late night engagements on his schedule and aside from a community barbecue in Sydney and an event at the city’s famed Opera House, there will be few mass public gatherings.
There had been rumors that he may attend a horse race in Sydney on Saturday, but he was not to be seen.
When the time came the well-hydrated crowd belted out Australia’s anthem “Advance Australia Fair” rather than the royal anthem “God Save the King.”
Land Down Under
It is not just age, jetlag and health worries that the king has to contend with Down Under.
Australians, while marginally in favor of the monarchy, are far from the enthusiastic loyalists they were in 2011 when thousands flocked to catch a white-gloved wave from his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
“I think most people see him as a good king,” said 62-year-old Sydney solicitor Clare Cory, who like many is “on the fence” about the monarchy’s continued role in Australian life.
“It’s a long time. Most of my ancestors came from England, I think we do owe something there,” she said, before adding that multi-cultural Australia is now more entwined with the Asia-Pacific than a place “on the other side of the world.”
Some are less charitable, seeing no reason to retain a king whose accent, formal get-up and customs have little to do with the daily lives of easygoing antipodeans.
“He just gives old white guy vibes,” said home school teacher Maree Parker. “We don’t need a king and queen, we can just do our own thing.”
Still, Australia is a land of many happy memories for Charles, and he can be sure to find some support.
He first visited as a gawky 17-year-old in 1966, when he was shipped away to the secluded alpine Timbertop school in regional Victoria.
“While I was here I had the Pommy bits bashed off me,” he would later remark, describing it as “by far the best part” of his education.
Bachelor Charles was famously ambushed by a bikini-clad model on a later jaunt to Western Australia, who pecked him on the cheek in an instantly iconic photo of the young prince.
